Dispute over who runs county’s fire service costs taxpayers £250k - and the issue remains unresolved

The Home Office granted permission in 2018 to the then police and crime commissioner for the county, Conservative Jason Ablewhite, to take over governance of the fire service.

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The Fire Authority, which currently provides political leadership for the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, is made up of 17 councillors appointed by Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council.

It has resisted the attempts by the police and crime commissioner to take control and appealed in the courts against the Home Office’s decision.

A judicial review was rejected by the High Court in July 2019, but the Fire Authority has appealed against that decision as well.

Information provided via the Freedom of Information Act to the Local Democracy Reporting Service shows the Fire Authority has spent £83,545.95 on legal fees so far.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner has spent £98,677.60, plus a further £61,333 from a government grant, in the attempt to take over the service.

Of that, £139,000 was spent on external consultancy fees for developing a business case to assess governance options, and £19,000 has been spent on legal advice.

Costs are likely to increase as the matter is not yet resolved.

The chairman of the Fire Authority, Conservative Cllr Kevin Reynolds, said: “The Fire Authority considered carefully whether to start legal proceedings on this issue. It did so after legal advice from a QC and on the basis of the strength of feeling both of Fire Authority members and, more importantly, the overwhelming support of Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council.”

He said it was “in the interest of the community we serve to challenge the decision, which we believe was not based on evidence”.

He added: “It is our strong belief that changing governance of the fire service is not only a waste of public money but fails to deliver the accountability the public currently enjoys.

“The fire service in Cambridgeshire has been assessed by government commissioned inspectors to be one of the best fire and rescue services in the country and we are working hard to keep it that way for the people we serve.

“We are without doubt one of the lowest spending and most efficient and cost effective fire services in the country, hence our determination to protect the accountability, overall value for money and service the residents of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have currently and historically enjoyed.

“As a fire authority with a strong track record in being one of the lowest cost but higher performing fire authorities in the country, we are very conscious of how we spend our budget and the challenges we face from our elected members.

“We would not have pursued the legal action if we did not have a strong belief that remaining as a fire authority was in the best interests of our communities and we will continue to do the right thing for the people we serve.”

Cllr Reynolds said Mr Ablewhite’s business case “did not prove in any way that the fire service would be better off under the PCC’s governance and it was described by the judge, Mr Justice Granham, as being ‘bureaucratic gobbledegook’.”

He added: “As time has gone on, the business case has become less and less viable as many of the estates projects that it is based on have not materialised and the PCC has walked away from, leaving no economic case at all.”

He also hit out at an ongoing dispute between the two authorities, whereby an offer of land for a training facility appears to have been rescinded by the commissioner’s office.

If that decision is finalised, “it will end up costing us over £1 million and three-and-a-half wasted years pursuing what turned out to be an empty offer,” Cllr Reynolds said. “In the meantime, we have been operating our vital training for firefighters from a training ground that is not fit for purpose.”

Mr Ablewhite resigned from his position as police and crime commissioner in November 2019 after a complaint was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, reportedly alleging he sent an unsolicited explicit photo of himself to someone he met while carrying out his duties.

Mr Ablewhite’s deputy, Conservative Cllr Ray Bisby, was appointed acting police and crime commissioner.

A spokesperson for his office said: “As Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority’s legal challenge against the previous Home Secretary’s decision is still ongoing, it is not appropriate for the acting police and crime commissioner to comment further.”

Ben Hatton, Local Democracy Reporting Service